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HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Fifty years after the last class graduated from Glenvil High, the school's alumni held their final reunion this year.
The Hastings Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/29mGmJA ) the group decided to end the biennial reunions partly because so few alumni remain alive.
Glenvil High closed in 1966, and the youngest alums are turning 68 this year.
Alyce Sherman said everyone knew the gatherings couldn't go on forever, and they were becoming a burden for alumni to put on.
This year's reunion in May attracted 66 people, up from 52 at the last gathering in 2014. Twenty-three of the 28 alumni at the event voted to end the reunions.
"When we asked for a vote whether to continue or disband, we didn't know quite what to expect," Sherman said. "The vote went pretty much to disband because I think people realize, almost all of (the alumni) were too old to do the work."
Donna Meyer of Hastings said this year's reunion was bittersweet.
"It was really kind of a sad occasion, but it was also joyous because we got together with a lot of our old friends and neighbors and family members, as well," said Meyer, who graduated in 1965.
Bonnie Johnson made sure to attend this year's reunion from Half Moon Bay, California. She graduated in a class of seven students in 1966.
Johnson remembers the close community and dedicated teachers at the school.
"You grew up with every kid who was there," she said. "You basically knew everybody, and everybody knew you."
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